Infant carrying device



Oct. 5, 1954 E. w. DAUTERMANN ETAL 2,690,864

INFANT CARRYING DEVICE Filed May 26, 1950 INVENTOR Eva/inc W Daufer-mann Frederik Lea/(ls Dauzermann ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 5, 1954 "INFANT CARRYING"DEVICE tEvaline W. DautermannandfredericlLewis .-Dautermann, Sty-Raul, Minn.

1 Claim. 1

Our inventioni-relates to-an improvement in infant carrying 'device 'whereiniitds desired to provide a simple .device for carrying a small child.

The need for a devicewforwcarrying small children has long' been recognized. .By'use of such an apparatus it ispossibleifor a mother to'carry a small child-rand still have full used the arms and-hands. s'everaldevices haVe been previously designed to accomplish this result. However, these devices employed certain features which sometimes "rendered them either difficult to useor uncomfortable for theinfant.

A feature of the "present invention-(resides in the provisionof a carrying device which encircles the body of the infant so as "to avoid all danger of injury due to fallingfrom.theicarrier. At the same time, this device isso" designed that itmaybe quickly opened up so that the infant may be placed in the. carrier .orremoved therefrom with a minimumof difficulty.

A feature of thepresentinvention resides in the provision of a carrier having :a relatively rigidseat boa-rd embodied in. the zbase .of'the carrier and in shaping this seat so-as to project forwardly betweenthelegs .ofwthe infant. The carrier is so designed that the .projectingportion of theseat may.rest .upon the hip bone of the person carrying .the. infant so that the body may assist in the support. of thecarrier.

A further feature of the-.present invention lies in the provision of a vcarrier .having-a=-pair2of spaced leg openings-through which the legsof the infant mayprojectcand having a separable fastener. .extendingfromone leg opening to the upper extremity. of the carrier. .Bywopening this separable fastener the portion of the carriernormally encircling the body oftheinfantmayrbe opened up to greatly .facilitate .vthesinsert-ionor removal of theinfant.

A further feature .of the present .inventionlies in the manner in which the. rigid. seat. member may be inserted and removed. Thetseat of our device is arranged in a pocketwhichropens toward the rear wall...of.the..carrier. Thus while the carrier is in..use,..it..is..physically.impossible to remove the rigid seat reinforcing member. When the carrier is .not-in use,-the-reinforcing member may be'easilyremoved. :In view'of the location and arrangement :of .the pocket it is not necessary to provide means forclosingthe pocket or holding it closed.

An added feature of the present invention lies in the provision of straps'which'anchor near the rear of the seatand are connected to the body wall of lthelicarrier toi incline forwardly and upwardly. .As .a: resultiof this structure the strap mayrconvenientlyJextend; over the shoulder opposite the a'side of the bodynagainst which the *carrienrests WilihOlltiiiWiStinglthE strapand withiout:un'comfortablerstraini ortension against any part of the body.

.An added'feature's'of Lthe present invention lies inxthemrovisionxof a separate strap encirclingthe ba'ckof thacarrierrbodyand free therefrom.

Thisistrap is .designedto reinforce the'body wall and-salso'zto permit the wall and reinforcing strap tozflex independently.

These and other objects and novel. features of .our inventionyvill 'beamore clearly and fully set forthiin the following specification andclaim. i-Inrthe'drawings forming 'a part of 1 our specification:

Figure .1 is aefrontperspective view of our infant carrier" showing in :general the construction thereof.

Figure 52 isa rear. perspective'view. ofthe same.

Figure 3-isap1anyiew of the seat reinforcing member.

.L'Figure 4 .isra sectional yiewthrough .the seat atthe- 'center portion thereof.

The carrier :is indicated in general by the letter'A. iTherca-rrier-iis.provided with a body wall -10 whichxis arranged to besubstantially ovalin -form=when the carrier is in use. The bodywall I0 .is. of'sufficientheight to prevent an infant from falling: from the carrier and will .accommodateran infant. from -the time it is old enough. to hold the head erect until after it is large :enoughtd-Walk about freely. The upper edge of the body-wall Hi'is bound with tape as indicated at H, or is otherwise-finished 'toprovide ax smooth fwelh'appearing edge. The lower edge :of-thebody'wall is stitchedmarginally as indicated =at:-l2 to a bottompanel 13 of fabric. This bottom panel .13 is of the same general shape asvtherseatreinforcing member l4 illustrated in rFigure 3-of the drawings.

Two roundedhnotches "liand "5' are provided in--the body -Wa-11 1-0 -to.-act as leg-openings for the infant. .These-notchesrw andifi are spaced to provide an intermediate'vstrap I'bwhichconnects-with the bottomipanel Iii by stitching l9 as 'indicated in Figure 4" of the drawings. Bhe marginal edges 'rofi the notches-t5 and :16 are bound "with tape as iindicated at "20." and 21 respectively, 'so as to 'provi'de =a smooth finished edge at the bottom of the'carrier.

As indicated 1 in Figures 1 and *3 of the drawin'gsf-the center por-tion of' the bottom panel [3 projects forwardly, the bottom panel being cut to provide spaced notches 22 and 23. These notches form continuations of the notches and 2| and the strap I! connects with the forwardly projecting portion of the bottom panel between the notches. This construction permits the central projecting portion of the carrier to contact the body of the person carrying the infant so as to space the major portion of the carrier from the body and so that the carrier may gain support by the hip bone of the person carrying the infant.

A seat panel 24 overlies the bottom panel I3 and is connected thereto along opposite sides and along the front edges of the two panels. The seat panel 24 is connected to the bottom panel [3 throughout the notches 22 and 23 and also by the stitching [9 connecting the central strap I? with the bottom panel l3. The sides of the seat panel 24 are also connected to the bottom panel by the stitching l2, which connects the bottom panel to the side Wall i0. However, the entire rear edge of the seat panel 24 is free of the bottom panel [3 and is provided with a bound edge 25 which is somewhat longer than M only be removed when the carrier is not in use. 1

This arrangement also eliminates the necessity of snaps, buttons, or fasteners for holding the pocket closed, as the opening of the pocket is normally closed by the rear wall of the carrier.

The seat reinforcing member is designed to fit within the pocket 26 and is shaped similarly to the pocket. The reinforcing member !4 is shown as having a rounded rear edge 21 which is curved as indicated at 29 and 30 at its juncture with the generally parallel ends 3| and 32. A central projection 33 is provided at the forward edge of the seat, this projection acting as a spacer between rounded notches 34 and 35. The notches 34 and 35 correspond to the notches 22 and 23 in the bottom panel, while the projection 33 corresponds with the forwardly projecting center portion of the bottom panel. It is the projection 33 which usually supports the center portion of the carrier at its point of engagement with the body of the person. carrying the infant. The projection preferably rests just above the hip bone.

A separable fastener of the hookless type is indicated at 36 and the wall It is vertically split at this point. The split or separation in the wall If) extends from the upper edge of the carrier into communication with the notch 2i. The fastener is of the separable type which permits the body to be entirely disconnected along the line of separation. Accordingly the body wall it may be opened up to permit easy access and removal of the infant.

The body i0 is supported by a pair of straps best illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. One strap 31 is anchored in the seam between the side wall I0 and the bottom panel i3 and is held in anchored position by the stitching l2. As best shown in Figure 2, the strap 37 is secured to the side wall If] by stitching 39 which extends to a point spaced from the upper end of the wall Ill. The strap 31 inclines forwardly and upwardly at a substantial angle to the vertical so that the strap may extend flatly over the back of the person carrying the infant and over the shoulder opposite the side against which the carrier is supported. As indicated in these figures, the strap 31 extends through the end of a snap fastener 40 and is doubled back upon itself for attachment with an adjustment fastener 4|. By changing the position of the fastener 4|, the length of the strap 31 may be easily regulated.

The second strap 42 is also anchored at its lower end between the marginal edge of the side wall IB- and the inturned marginal edge of the bottom panel l3 and is held in place by the stitching I 2. The strap 42 inclines upwardly and forwardly as shown in Figure 1 and is secured to the carrier wall II] by stitching 43. The upper end of the strap is doubled back upon itself at 44 and is secured in this doubled position to support the connecting ring 45. The snap fastener 40 is detachably engageable with the member 45 so that the two straps may be connected or disconnected.

A strap 46 is terminally connected at one end to the strap 42 as indicated in Figure l of the drawings, and is terminally connected at its other end to the strap 31. The strap 46 is preferably not connected to the wall I0, except at its extremities so that the wall may fiex relatively to the strap. The strap 46 acts as a reinforcement for further support for the infant.

When in use the hookless fastener 33 is opened to permit the insertion of the infant into the carrier. When the infant is in place with one leg projecting through each leg opening, the fastener 36 is closed. The strap 31 extends over the shoulder of the person carrying the device opposite the side against which the carrier rests. When in place the center projection 33 of the base reinforcing member extends against the side of the person carrying the infant, this projection usually lying over the hip bone to provide added support.

When it is desired the device may be washed by merely removing the reinforcing board I4 and if desired removing the buckles and snaps, although the removal of these latter objects is not essential. However, when the device is in use the seat can not be inserted or removed. The separable fastener can not be readily disengaged by the infant. However, the strap arrangement is such that the rear wall of the carrier remains in taut position at all times, while the carrier is in use, even if the fastener 36 is disengaged.

In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described the principles of construction and operation of our infant carrying device, and while we have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative thereof and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claim without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

A baby carrier including a wall designed to encircle the body of an infant, the forward por tion of the wall having a pair of spaced leg openings therein, a seat connected to said wall including a bottom panel, means securing said bottom panel marginally to the wall, a substantially coextensive upper panel, means securing said upper panel marginally along the front and sides only to said bottom panel thereby leaving said bottom panel unattached along the rear edge thereof, said panels forming a pocket having a pocket opening directed toward the rear portion of the Wall, a reinforcing member between said panels, a first carrying strap portion having one end anchored between the marginal edge of said wall and the rear edge of said bottom panel by said first mentioned securing means, a second carrying strap portion having one end also anchored between said marginal edge of said wall and said rear edge of said bottom panel by said first mentioned securing means, said strap portions extending upwardly and forwardly, additional means securing the intermediate sections of said strap portions to said wall, detachable means connecting the other ends of said strap portions, and a single separable fastener in said wall extending from the upper edge thereof to one of said leg openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 5 D. 138,791 1,039,009 1,605,473 2,141,105 2,376,657 10 2,409,331 2,411,721 2,466,588 2,537,864

Number Name Date Horckitz Sept. 12, 1944 Averill Sept. 17, 1912 Schneidau Nov. 2, 1926 Eller Dec. 20, 1938 Chamberlain May 22, 1945 Wood Oct. 15, 1946 Hancock et a1 Nov. 26, 1946 Clemens Apr. 26, 1949 Skaer Jan. 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Aug, 11, 1938 France July 28, 1947 Great Britain Dec. 17. 1948 

